Survival of the Fittest
by GreyWolfKnight
Summary: Admiral Helena Cain was a tragic figure of mixed background and actions, who ultimately met her fate at the hands of her former lover. But what if things had happened differently? What if she never met up with Galactica and the Rag-Tag Fleet. This is the story of Cain and her one woman war against the Cylons in the ruins of the Twelve Colonies.
1. Chapter 1 (revised)

Part 1: The Second Cylon War

**Chapter 1: Fate Denied**

Morning came to the Scorpion Shipyards on the dawn of Armistice Day, and the military and civilian traffic carried on as they always did in complete ignorance of what had happened at Armistice Station. This complacency was most transparent in the Shipyards' current residents: a trio of battlestars and a squadrons worth of cruisers, destroyers, and other escort ships all in drydock. Sticking out from amongst them like the crown jewel was the Battlestar _Pegasus_.

_Pegasus _was a Mercury-class Heavy Battlestar. She was almost two kilometers long, crewed by ten thousand officers and enlisted, and weighed over a million tons from all the metal, optical wiring, and ceramics, and other components. She was the ultimate expression of Colonial martial strength and economic might. Each one of the seven heavy battlestars was an achievement of logistics and construction. A monument to Never Again: a statement burned into the hearts and memories of the rapidly disappearing Old Guard who remembered the Cylon War as something other than history.

Today, though, that monument was docked at the yards getting her brains ripped out and replaced with the latest computer hardware and software the Colonial Fleet's Bureau of Technology had to offer. She would be spending the next few months laid up while technicians and software engineers picked at her electronic brain, allowing the crew to enjoy leave or experience the joys of being on duty while at port. All except for one member.

Rear Admiral Helena Cain looked at the woman standing across from her. Helena knew who the woman was. How could she not? The woman, all svelte frame and blonde locks and long legs, was Gina. Her lover and confidant. Yet she was also not what she appeared to be, according to her own admission.

"You're a Cylon," Helena repeated, feeling oddly vulnerable and naked in her quarters despite being in her full working uniform.

Gina nodded. Tears were falling down those delicate cheeks that had once been showered in kisses from Helena's own lips. Helena felt the impulse to go to her lover and comfort her, but the soldier in her warned against it. She was, after all, facing down an enemy spy.

"Gina," Helena Cain said. "If this is your version of a joke, I'm not laughing."

"This isn't a joke, Helena!" Gina said. No, she pleaded, as if convincing Helena was the most important thing in the worlds to her. "You have to warn your government that an attack is imminent! My people are returning and they're going to kill you all!"

Helena felt like someone had flicked her hard between the eyes. What the hell were you supposed to do when your lover confessed to being a saboteur responsible for crippling your ship and fleet?

Marines. She needed to call in the Marines.

"Corporal Alanis, get in here!" Helena called out.

The marine who normally guarded her quarters at this time of day entered and looked at the Admiral. He said, "Yes, Admiral?"

"Take this…" Helena Cain said, gesturing at Gina. "This _thing _to the brig."

Corporal Alanis reaffirmed his grip on his carbine and fixed Gina with a cold, professional glare. He said to her, "Ma'am, if you'll come with me."

Gina parted her bangs and nodded, sniffing as she choked back tears. Once Gina and Corporal Alanis was gone, Helena keyed the intercom.

"CIC," Major Jack Fisk said.

"Jack, this is the Admiral," Rear Admiral Helena Cain said, her voice cold and hard as gravity crushed battle plate. "Get the ship undocked and unnetwork our computers. Tell every ship in our sector to prepare for imminent enemy contact. Then get on the horn with Picon Fleet Headquarters and tell them I've apprehended a Cylon agent who claims an attack is about to be underway."

"Sir?" Major Fisk asked.

Helena gritted her teeth and her nose flared in annoyance. She said, "Now, Major. This is not a joke and it's not a drill. And detail a scout raptor to check out Armistice Station. I'll be there shortly."

"Uh, yes, sir!" Fisk replied.

Within moments of the line clicking off the klaxons and alarms began to ring throughout the _Pegasus_. As Gina was "escorted" into the cell she finally broke down crying, the weight of all the worlds in the universe pressing down on her shoulders and forcing her to her knees.

She buried her face in her hands as she wondered what the hell she was going to do now. She'd warned Helena and saved her lover, but at the cost of her lover and her mission. Without either, what was she? Just a traitor amidst enemies who would be unsympathetic to her plight. She wished she could die, truly die, but knew even that was taken away from her by the Resurrection Ships pre-positioned to receive the agents when they died in the impending apocalypse.

"God," she said between sobs. "Please, show me the way. Show me how to end this pain."

Cain was in the CIC within minutes, arriving just in time for the Pegasus to rock violently. Several of the command crew who were standing were thrown off their feet. Bones broke as limps landed at awkward angles with hard impacts on the deck plating.

For her part Cain was practically expecting it and managed to keep her footing as she arrived at the tactical plot.

"What the hell was that?" Major Fisk demanded as he rose to his feet with the help of Lt. Hoshi.

"The Cylons," Cain said calmly amid the cries of pain and the wailing klaxons. "What our status, XO?"

"Looks like two nukes hit us in the stern!" Colonel Belzen reported, his usual calm demeanor cracked by the surprise attack. "DRADIS is erratic but we have weapons and navigation systems! What we can see is a lot of fighter-class contacts swarming all over us at point blank range! What do we do, sir?"

Cain gripped her hands into fists around the edges of the tactical plotting table. She could practically see the hundreds of Cylon Raiders blasting their way through the ships and facilities of the Scorpion Fleet Shipyards. If what Gina was telling the truth than the CNP backdoor would disable all active ships and fighters before they even knew what was going on.

"Sir, orders?" Colonel Belzen repeated.

"The shipyard is lost," Cain said, more affirming it to herself than for the benefit of the command crew. "We need to get out of here and regroup."

Cain looked up at Belzen and gave her orders. "I want all hatches sealed and docking connection severed! Fire up the FTL computer and set coordinates for Primary Fallback Location Alph-"

She stopped as she realized that the Cylons probably had all of the fallback locations for the Colonial Fleet and probably had ships waiting there for her and any other active ship. She couldn't order a jump to another colony, as those were probably under all out attack. Where the hell could she go?

"Sir?' Belzen pressed her.

"Scratch that order. Enter in the last known coordinates of the _Galactica_!"

"Yes, sir!" Belzen replied.

The _Pegasus _cut herself loose from Scorpion Fleet Shipyards. The Cylon raiders barely had time to notice and react before the massive battlestar disappeared in a flash of light and exotic radiation.

On a nearby baseship a Cavil received the status update regarding Pegasus from the raiders and swore.

"Damn it! Damn it!" Cavil swore. "How did they escape?"

"The CNP backdoor didn't work," a Simon replied. "They must have de-networked their computers and gone to manual controls."

Cavil glowered at the other biological models, who met his gaze sheepishly and with his own frustrations mirrored murkily in their eyes.

"Doesn't matter," a Sharon said with confidence. "One of our sisters is aboard the Pegasus. She'll take down that beast somehow, and we'll swoop in for the kill. It's only a matter of time."

"I hope you're right, sister," Cavil said, sneering the common nickname the Cylons bio-models used when referring to each other. "Because that ship belongs to Helena frakking Cain, and she won't stop until we're all dead."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Fallout**

The hyperlight jump brought _Pegasus _to _Galactica's _last known location almost instantaneously. Located near the celestial body known as Asteroid NX-2005, the DRADIS was as clear as far as the electronic eyes could see.

"Where's the _Galactica_?" Helena asked.

"No wreckage so probably not destroyed," Colonel Belzen offered. "Chances are they moved on once word of the attack got out."

Helena nodded. That would make sense, given Adama was, for all his faults, a veteran of the Cylon War and a very clever man when he wanted to be.

"What do we do now, sir?" Major Jack Fisk asked.

"Get a CAP in the air," Cain said. When in doubt, launch vipers, as her grandma had once put it. "Get our bearings. Find out where the Fleet is rallying and where the Cylons are hitting us."

"I'll get right on that," Belzen said.

"Before you do, we need to talk," Cain told him, then looked to Fisk. "Major, the CIC is yours. Colonel, come with me."

"Yes, sir," Colonel Belzen said, his curiosity peaked if nothing else.

Once they were in the privacy of Helena's quarters, she told him about Gina's revelation and her warning about the CNP. To his credit, he seemed to take it well.

"Cylons look like us now?" he said, his disbelief plain to see. "What the hell are we doing to do if the toasters look like us now?"

"We have a prisoner who willingly defected and has a clear interest in remaining useful to us," Helena said with a voice as cold and precise as a hydraulic press. "We should make use of it. I'll have Lieutenant Thorn start interrogating her ASAP."

"Are you sure that's wise, Helena?" Jurgen asked. "He's a sadist at best. Only reason he's still in the Office of Naval Intelligence is because he's Admiral Sarkis' grandson."

"He's the best we've got," Rear Admiral Cain said.

"Maybe I should talk to her," Belzen offered. "We weren't friends but we seemed to have a good working relationship."

"No, I need you to get this ship back under control. We can't trust our own computer networks and we only have five of the ten thousand we need for an optimal op capacity."

"Fisk can do that," Belzen argued, but argued gently. "Right now we have a limited shelf life on our intel source and someone high ranking should take care of it. So either you or me have to start getting cozy with our new prisoner."

Cain gave a perturbed roll of her eyes, then said, "Fine. See what you can get out of the robot. You have one hour starting now. If you can't get anything useful out of her I'm sending in Thorn."

"Thank you, sir," Belzen said, and meant it. "If I may ask, what are you going to be doing?"

"I need to break it to the crew that we're at war, and since you'll be talking to the toaster I'll be getting our bearings."

"Very good, sir. Good luck."

Captain Anne Landry was pressed into her chair by the acceleration of her viper fighter down the launch tube. It took seconds to go from grey bulkheads to the star spangled black of open space. She gunned her engines and brought the Pegasus into view of her canopy.

"This is Sheba," Captain Landry said over the main comms channel. "I'm on station. Bojay, you with me?"

"You know it, Captain," Lt. Robert James Howard, callsign Bojay, reported. His viper appeared on Sheba's limited DRADIS as it finished launching and assumed formation on her wing.

"What about you Bone Rattle?" Sheba asked.

"Just touched off the pad, ma'am," the raptor driver said. "Assuming position on your wing."

"Copy. _Pegasus_, this is Sheba. All ships accounted for. Beginning Combat Patrol."

"Roger, Sheba," Lt. Hoshi replied. "Long range DRADIS shows nothing but rocks for a light-second out."

"Hopefully we'll have a nice, quiet patrol," Bone Rattle said.

"I'd rather be off scrapping toasters," Bojay grumbled.

"Keep the chatter to a minimum, CAP," Sheba ordered. "Keep an eye on your instruments. Without the CNP and auto-systems we're going to have to fly by the seat of our pants."

"Just like our grandparents did," Bojay said.

Belzen stood in the cramped compartment that housed the _Pegasus's _brig. His arms were crossed and his posture was aggressive. He wasn't an ONI spook but he knew how to talk and listen when it came to body language. In response to his apparent displeasure was Gina's timid nervousness. The woman, once confident and graceful, was pacing her cell like a caged animal, which was an apt comparison. Two marines armed with submachine guns were waiting for her to make the slightest aggressive move, but she didn't seem able to oblige them.

In his heart Belzen wanted to open the door, give the woman a hug, and tell her everything would be alright. He had to remind himself he was dealing with an enemy saboteur, even if she had defected. He activated the intercom and spoke.

"Hello, Gina," he said.

Gina stopped pacing and looked at him with wide eyes. She replied, "Jurgen."

Belzen was tempted to correct her, that he was Colonel Belzen to her, but decided that he didn't have the time to play the tough cop card. In this situation, friendly cop seemed to be the way to get quick answers.

"We don't have a lot of time," Belzen said. "I need to know everything you know inside of thirty minutes, starting now."

"Where are we?"

"We're in interstellar space, picking up the pieces of your sabotage," Belzen replied, letting some chill creep into his voice.

"I didn't make the CNP backdoor or the virus," Gina replied. "That wasn't my mission."

"What was your mission?" Belzen asked.

"To make sure that Helena died, and the _Pegasus _was destroyed. Our strategists predicted that Helena would be a major focus point for Colonial Fleet resistance, and _Pegasus _is the most powerful warship in existence. They needed to go if we were going to achieve our objective."

"What is your objective?"

Gina blinked and gulped, then said, "To exterminate the human species."

It took all of Jurgen's willpower to keep calm and focused. He couldn't give in to anger, least he burn a bridge he and his ship needed to cross. So he focused on the facts.

"So this is it," he stated. "The big one that Colonial Fleet's been predicting since the War ended."

Gina nodded. "You don't have a lot of time or options. The CNP backdoor will let my people disable most if not all of your modern warships. Only your second-line ships and those in need of refit will be able to fight, and they won't be enough to stop us."

"So what do you suggest?" Jurgen asked.

"Run. Hide. Get out of the Cyrannus System."

Belzen shook his head. "This is the battlestar _Pegasus_. The pride of the Colonial Fleet. We don't run from anything."

"Damn it, Jurgen! Stop listening to the propaganda and listen to me!" Gina pleaded. "You can't win this one!"

"Maybe, maybe not," Belzen said. "But if this is the genocide of the human race, Helena won't be standing on the sidelines crossing her fingers for the best. So if you want to help us, to help her, tell me what I need to know."

Gina sighed and closed her eyes. "I can't betray my people."

"Little late for that," Belzen said.

"You'll just kill them all! Slaughter them like the savages you are!"

Belzen felt his temples pulse and his jaw muscles clench. He counted down, and at the bottom of the downstroke said. "The Cylons decided to make this a war of genocide, if what you're saying is right. We don't have time to debate the ethics of war, Gina. Give me something to work with so Cain doesn't send Thorn in to get you to talk."

That seemed to snap her back to reality, as she said, "Okay. Here's what you need to know."

A little more than an hour later, Colonel Belzen stood in Admiral Cain's quarters again with a brain full of Cylon intelligence. He stood at the main table with Admiral Cain, Major Fisk, and a young woman wearing the pips of a junior lieutenant.

"I'll start us off with the status of Pegasus," Helena said. "Oh and say hello to my new aide, Lt. Kendra Shaw."

Belzen nodded to the lieutenant. Fisk managed to not oggle her chest. Probably too shook up by the attack, Belzen decided.

Helena said, "Overall, we got out pretty much unscathed. Some armor plating on the engine section has been cracked but not breached. We have our weapons, nav, and other systems separated and isolated. CAG and the Chief have managed to get most of our birds vetted, so we have more or less a full air wing again. We've got one hundred seventeen wounded and nineteen dead. Pegasus is, for better or worse, ready for action. All we need is a target. Major, what do we know?"

Fisk blew out a breath that smelled faintly of booze. He said, "Well, it's not good. We've lost thirty-seven battlestars so far. Far as we can tell every colony is under nuclear assault. Picon Fleet Headquarters is gone, as is Caprica City. Vice Admiral Nagala has taken overall command and is rallying at Virgon. No word on if Adar is alive."

Helena looked at Belzen. "What did our Cylon tell us?"

"A lot," Belzen said. "No hesitation and no attempt to make a deal. She spilled her guts, practically."

"And what did the entrails say?" Helena asked.

"First, this is the Worst Case Scenario. The Cylons put a backdoor in our computers that turned ninety-five percent of Colonial Fleet into useless flying coffins. They're going for broke. Full on nuclear assault with the intent to wipe us out. Baseships and cruiser squadrons are hitting our fleet assets while small groups of corvettes and raiders wipe our our civilian shipping. They have two hundred baseships and a thousand escort ships, plus thousands of raiders. If this was a fair fight, we'd have a chance. As is…. As is, we should start considering the possibility that we can't win this."

"You're not suggesting we give up and run, are you?" Admiral Cain asked.

"No, sir," Belzen said, shaking his head. "However this is the literal Worst Case Scenario. We should consider going to Case Black, and executing Plan Dragon's Teeth."

A dark mood fell over the gathered officers. Plan Dragon's Teeth was the kind of plan nobody wanted to execute but every competent commander knew by heart. If the Colonies were lost, the Colonial Fleet would rally what surviving civilian shipping and send them off with escorts to ensure the survival of the human race in some distant corner of space, while the bulk of the remaining Fleet would remain behind and make the Cylons bleed for all they could, keeping them occupied while the Exodus Fleet ran as far as it could.

"I'm not prepared to execute that plan," Admiral Cain declared, resting her hands on the desk, palms down.

"So what is our plan, sir?" Belzen asked.

"War," Helena said without hesitation. "We're going to take the ship to Virgon and kill every toaster son of a bitch we can lay our hands on."

"So say we all," Fisk said without conviction.

"So say we all," Belzen nodded.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The Skies of Virgon**

"Oh my gods," Major Fisk gasped. "It's a frakking blood bath!"

The skies of Virgon were on fire. Hundreds of warships and thousands of fighters danced and died in the orbital lanes on both sides, with most of the dying was being done by the Colonials. So many Colonial Fleet ships were drifting helplessly as the crews fought against their own computers. The few that weren't were being surrounded and destroyed one by one. All around the battlefield packs of Cylon raiders hunted fleeing civilian ships, shooting down anything that wasn't them. The airwaves were filled with the screams of desperate people begging for mercy that did not exist. As if to add insult to injury, a fifth of the Cylon fleet was scattered across the planet, dropping nukes on every settlement bigger than a small town.

_This is it_, Belzen thought to himself. _This is the end of our civilization. Virgon was supposed to be one of our best defended colonies and we're being slaughtered. Gods, it must be worse on other worlds. Saggitaron. Gemenon. Aerilon. Those colonies had poor defenses compared to the "major" worlds. Gods, we're frakked!_

Belzen looked to Cain. She returned his gaze, and in his eyes he saw steel and fury. She was, to put it simply, hopping mad and intended to do something about it.

"Mr. Hoshi," Cain said calmly. "Get me Admiral Nagala."

"Yes, sir," Hoshi said, then said again a few minutes later, "I have the _Atlantia _on Line One, sir."

Helena put on her headset and keyed it to the appropriate channel. She said by way of announcement, "_Pegasus_-Actual to _Atlantia_. Go ahead."

On the other side was the deep, whiskey tones of Vice Admiral Nathan Nagala. The current Chief of Naval Operations said, "Helena, is that you? Thank the gods. I thought we'd lost you at Scorpia. What's your status?"

"Ready and able, sir," Cain replied. "Where do you need us?"

"Everywhere, but even _Pegasus _can't change this battle. I need you to break the Cylon fleet's hold on us and let us escape. We can't hold Virgon, so we're going to break off and regroup. Don't care how you do it, just get it done."

"Yes, sir," Cain said. "_Pegasus_-Actual, out. Colonel Belzen, what did our Cylon prisoner say about their ships?"

Belzen glanced from the DRADIS to Helena, then back at the DRADIS one last time before focusing on her.

_Focus, Jurgen. Focus. Now is not the time to freeze up._

"They're fragile but deadly," he said. "They're expecting an easy fight."

"Well, let's correct them," Helena said. "Launch Strike Wings One through Three to protect the _Pegasus_. Strike Four and Reserve Wing will remain on standby. Pegasus will close to weapon range and start opening a hole for the Fleet."

"Open a hole, sir?" Fisk asked.

"We're regrouping at another rally point," Helena Cain said in that voice that told everyone listening that was the Gods' own fact, silencing doubt and quashing any questions. She pointed at the DRADIS and said, "The Cylons are operating their baseships in trinities, just like the war. Their fighters are away and they're unescorted. We'll nuke them, open a hole, and make it wider until every ship is out. Major Fisk, target main batteries on Baseship one-four-one and two nuclear strike missions on Baseships one-four-two and one-four-three. Execute."

The CIC snapped to execute her orders. Gunnery control inputted coordinates and tracking data into their now de-networked computers. The _Pegasus _pointed her red striped nose towards the enemy and lit off her plasma thrusters. One hundred and twenty vipers were scrambled alongside the assault and EWAC raptors.

On the flight deck of the Starboard Hangar Pod, Captain Anne Landry sat in her Viper's cockpit and sucked at a water pouch as the deck crew scrambled to get Strike Wings One, Two, and Three into the launch tubes. Silver Spar Squadron was part of the Reserve Wing, so the chances of them seeing action was limited to slim and none. Only if the situation got desperately dire would she be launched. So she hurried up and waited to be useful, fighting the rushing adrenaline brought on by the klaxons and the shouting of the Deck Chief. She glanced at Bojay, who was munching on a granola bar. He raised it in salute to his squadron leader, and she returned the gesture with her pouch. At least she wasn't alone in waiting.

The Cylon armada was arrayed in a textbook perfect formation. Corvettes and cruisers took up the brunt of the enemy fire while the baseships provided artillery support in the form of their extensive missile launchers along the arms. Pinned down by the Cylon escort ships and pummeled by the baseships, the Colonial Fleet warships had no chance to break out or do anything but circle the wagons and hope for the best. The raiders also kept the vipers and raptors, those that were active anyway, from striking at the big capital ships. All in all, the Colonial Fleet was in the middle of its last stand.

Then _Pegasus _opened up with her main batteries, semi-spinal cannons and turreted railguns laid across the nose of her bow, on Cylon Baseship 141. Sixteen missiles, each containing a fifty kiloton warhead, shot off in two groups of eight towards the other two baseships in the trinity. The Cylons clearly weren't planning on someone showing up to save the day for Colonial Fleet, as the baseships had no escort ships around them or raider squadrons flying CAP. The baseships also lacked any organic point defense of their own and their missile tubes facing the _Pegasus _were still reloading. It was a perfect storm of coincidence that doomed the Cylon basestar trinity.

The railgun shot of the main batteris struck first, hitting the main central hull of Basestar 141. Despite being approximately two kilometers from end to end, there was very little armor, or for that matter any air gapping between the outer hull and the delicate internals. Something was hit by the railgun shells. After Action Reports would supposition that the shells hit the tylium tanks, or possibly reserve missile stores. Either way, Basestar 141 made for a spectacular explosion that broke the Cylon ship in half.

The two groups of nukes hit shortly after, bathing the two super heavy capital ships in canned sunshine. As the artificial suns of nuclear detonations faded, nothing was left of basestars 142 or 143 that was larger than a viper.

"Cylon baseship group down!" Lt. Hoshi yelled. A bloodthirsty cheer went up in the CIC at the confirmed kills.

"Everyone keep your heads!" Cain ordered. "We've just attracted the attention of every Cylon in orbit."

"Confirmed," Belzen said. "Four cruisers and a corvette are moving in to engage us along with at least four squadrons of raiders. I think we pissed them off."

Fisk asked, "Should we prep another nuclear fire mission?"

"No," Cain said. "Those raiders are hanging close to their cruisers. We won't be able to get a nuke to hit even if we fired a whole salvo at one of them. Alter course eight-seven degrees starboard, nose angled fifty-one degrees negative. Lock forward railguns on the next basestar trinity while broadsides prepare to engage the cruisers. Release assault raptors and Strike Wings One and Two to engage those cruisers. Execute."

Eighty vipers, four EWAC raptors, and thirty assault raptors broke formation away from _Pegasus _and accelerated at full speed towards the cylon reaction force. The raiders broke away from their escort position and engaged. Their technique was mechanical and predictable, but they had numbers on their side and were utterly fearless. A bloody furball unfurled as viper and raider dueled for supremacy. Colonial pilots died as their birds were shot out from under them by tracers and missiles, but they did their job: Open a hole for the assault raptors.

The assault raptors fired scores of anti-shipping missiles with plasma warheads into the hulls of the cruisers and the single corvette. Two cruisers broke apart as their already weakened armored was boiled away and their interiors scuttled. The corvette didn't stand a chance and blew apart as its tylium stores were touched off.

"Assault raptors are returning for reload and rearm!" Lt. Hoshi reported. "Cylon reaction force is entering gun range!"

"All batteries open fire," Rear Admiral Helena Cain ordered.

_Pegasus _opened up with her fore and portside railguns opened fire on the Cylons. The baseships knew what was coming and were reacting, but it was too little too late and their electronic brains told them so. Baseship 157 exploded while her trinity mates jumped out, making the hole in their entrapment wider. As _Pegasus _traded blows with the two remaining cruisers, destroying them under a relentless barrage that they simply could not match, those Colonial Fleet ship that were able made good their escape. Vipers and raptors were recovered and ships began jumping out as soon as they cleared Virgon's gravity well. A lull in the battle emerged for _Pegasus_, allowing her admiral to think and realize one important fact.

"Fisk, I'm not seeing _Atlantia_," Cain said. "Where is she?"

"Uh," Fisk stuttered. "The _Atlantia _is pulling up the rear, holding off the whole damned Cylon fleet!"

"That's a job for a heavy cruiser squadron," Belzen said. "What the frak is Nagala doing?"

"That's a good question," Cain said. Thought she would never show it, she was worried. Command ships weren't supposed to bring up the rear. Especially not battlestars like _Atlantia_, which was a Mercury-class like _Pegasus_. They weren't made to tank lots of punishment, and the Cylons were throwing nukes like they were candy on Walpurgisnacht. "Get me _Atlantia_."

"_Atlantia_-Actual to _Pegasus_, go," Fleet Admiral Nagala said.

"Sir," Helena said, "why are you bringing up the rear?"

"My FTL is out," Nagala said in a cold, straightforward voice that held no terror or sorrow. "Chief Engineer says it'll take four hours to fix. I don't have four hours, so I'm letting my escorts escape. I'm sending my vipers, raptors, and as many shuttles as I can load and ship off to you. Get my people to safety. I told the fleet to rally at a random set of coordinates. Transmitting them to you now."

"Yes, sir," Cain replied.

"Seems like fate has a sense of humor," Nagala chuckled. "The Fleet is yours, Helena. Make it count."

"Yes, sir. Good hunting." Cain said again. As the line was disconnected she looked at Belzen, saying, "Tell Strike Three to rendezvous with the convoy coming off of the _Atlantia_. Hoshi, we should be getting FTL jump coordinates from her, confirm?"

"Confirmed," Hoshi replied. "Coordinates are for the Tantalus Sector."

"That's beyond the Red Line," Fisk said. "Aren't we going to regroup at another colony?"

"All the colonies are under heavy assault," Cain said. "We regroup at Tantalus, then we strike back."

"Sir, what about the civilians?" Belzen asked.

Cain looked at the DRADIS, only now seeing the scores of civilian signatures heading towards _Pegasus _in search of safety.

"We can't risk leaking the Tantalus Rally Point to the Cylons," Cain said, her voice as cold and practical as a steel beam. Those paying attention in the CIC looked at their admiral with shock.

Belzen went to Cain's side and said in a low voice, "Helena, we can't do that. Look at those radiation blooms on Virgon. This isn't a conquest. It's a genocide. We have to take the civilians with us."

"Jurgen, we can't risk the whole fleet for a few thousand refugees," Helena whispered back.

"I'm not saying that," Belzen said to buy time for his brain to think. It did not fail him. "Let's jump the ship back to NX-1701 and take the civilians with us. That way if the Cylons follow we won't give them the Fleet's location, and we can jump back to Tantalus once our drives have respooled."

Helena glared at Jurgen. He held her gaze, unafraid and just a little defiant.

"Alright," Cain whispered, then said aloud, "Major Fisk, plot a jump back to NX-1701. Hoshi, distribute those coordinates to the civilian ships near us that can jump."

"Yes, sir!" Fisk replied.

"Sir," Hoshi said, "what about the civilian ships that can't jump?"

"There's nothing we can do for them," Cain said.

"We can't load civilians and recover vipers," Belzen said. "Execute the order, Lieutenant. Gods forgive us."

The civilian ships that could started jumping. Those that couldn't kept heading towards the _Pegasus_. Scores of them were crowding her airspace. Right on their heels were Strikes One through Three along with several dozen vipers, raptors, and shuttles carrying what was left of _Atlantia's _crew, and on their heels was the Cylons.

"Hoshi," Cain said, "Tell the civilians to clear _Pegasus _airspace or we will shoot them down."

"Sir?" Hoshi asked, visibly shocked. He turned to look at his admiral. Cain looked him straight in the eyes.

"I said what I said," Cain told him.

"But sir! Those are civilians out there! Our people!" Hoshi protested.

"Execute the order, Lieutenant, or be relieved!" Belzen snapped.

Hoshi looked from Cain to Belzen, and found them both unyielding. He gave passed on the instructions. Moments later he said, "They're not breaking off, sir."

"Mr. Belzen, tell the gun crews to target those ships and open fire," Cain ordered.

Belzen didn't hesitate. He keyed his headset and passed on the order. Point defense cannons and anti-ship railgun turrets reorientated and put the civilians into their crosshairs, their captains begging for help and mercy, and opened fire.

"Air space is clear, sir," Fisk said, disbelief in what had just happened clear in his voice.

"Begin recovering our fighters and the _Altantia _convoy," Cain said. "Fleet status?"

"The last active ships just jumped, sir," Belzen said. "It's just us, _Atlantia_, and the Cylons."

"Jump status?"

"Ready for your command," Fisk said.

Cain glared up at the DRADIS at the cloud of red blips closing in on her ship and the _Atlantia_. Five basestars, seven cruisers, thirteen corvettes, and at least a thousand raiders were laying on as much punishment as they could on the _Atlantia _while the rest of their fleet scrambled to intercept the _Pegasus_. Fleet Admiral Nagala put up the best fight he could, but before Pegasus was even finished recovering her survivors the _Atlantia's _IFF winked out. At Lt. Hoshi's console a printout was spat out of the transceiver as an automated message arrived. He didn't need to read it to know what it said, but he did it anyway.

"_Altantia_ confirmed lost, sir," Hoshi said, his voice carrying the bone tiredness of a soldier who'd seen too much battle too fast. "What do we do now?"

"Finish recovering our fighters," Cain said. "What's our status?"

"Strike Wings One, Two, and Three confirmed touchdown on Landing Bays One, Three, and Four, with _Atlantia _survivors are skids down on Bay Two."

"Cylons are pressing in," Belzen said. "We're being painted by the whole damned fleet!"

Helena glanced up at the literal wall of Cylon ships and ordinance incoming. She opened her mouth to order the jump when a new cluster of blips appeared outside of Virgon's gravity well and relatively close to _Pegasus_. She thought they were Cylon reinforcements, then saw their IFFs were green.

"Sir!" Hoshi yelled. "Reading new DRADIS contacts! They're Colonial ships!"

"Confirm that!" Belzen snapped. "Right damned now!"

"Confirmed, sir!" Hoshi said. "Battlestar _Theseus _plus four civilian ships!"

Helena thought fast. _Theseus _was a Sobek-class Attack Battlestar, and almost as old as the _Galactica_. However they were still effective warships and she needed every hull she could get her hands on, but she needed to be decisive. A wolfpack of four Cylon corvettes plus three squadrons of raiders were closing the distance on _Theseus _fast. _Theseus _wouldn't be able to jump in time before those Cylon corvettes were all over her. Most of her assault raptors and vipers were at skosh ammo and fuel, leaving only two wings left to save at them.

"Move to rendezvous with _Theseus _at max burn," Cain ordered. "Launch Strike Four and Reserve Wing to engage that Cylon strike force. Main batteries fire as soon as they have effective range. Hoshi, give the coordinates for NX-1701 to _Theseus_ and tell them to jump as soon as their drives are spooled. XO, tell the LSO to get all our birds recovered ASAP. We're going to need all the space we can get."

The tired CIC team and the rest of the crew, strung out on adrenaline and no rest for almost a whole day, moved with all due haste to execute Cain's order. The _Pegasus _turned her nose towards _Theseus _with surprisingly agile grace you wouldn't expect of a million ton behemoth. Despite her order Cain knew that _Pegaus _wasn't going to be able to enter gun range before the Cylons were all over _Theseus_. Theseus's best hope for survival lay in the skills of her viper pilots, and the pilots of Strike Four and the Reserve Wing.

"This is Captain Landry to the battlestar _Theseus_," Sheba said as she and the remaining two wings of fresh Vipers redwalled their engines towards the stricken battlestar. "I'm bringing four squadrons in to help you. Get your air wing to cover the civies and yourselves. We'll handle the Cylons."

"This is _Theseus _CAG to Captain Landry," a man with a Virgonian's posh accent said. "Solid copy. Thanks for the assistance!"

"Copy," Sheba said, then switched channels. "Strike Four, engage those raiders. Gold and Silver Squadrons, we're going after those corvettes. Aim for engines, weapon mounts, and DRADIS dishes.

Acknowledgements rang out from Strike Four's commander and her pilots. With the board set, Sheba focused on the first corvette. She had a clean shot right at it as the raiders were swallowed up by the superior number of vipers. It was all in her hands now.

The Cylon corvette seemed to be a newer version of the old Nemesis tech corvettes, except these had more guns and missile tubes. The small caliber chin and wing cannons opened fire at the incoming Silver Squadron, but their tracking systems were not made for hitting such small and fast moving targets. Sheba blew past them and entered the corvette's blindspot, just above her engine block. Anne squeezed the trigger and fired all her missiles. Six Blowdart anti-fighter missiles and three streams of 40 millimeter cannon shells shredded the thin armor of the corvette's rear and into the interior.

The corvette stopped maneuvering, leaving her a sitting duck as nine other vipers from Silver Squadron strafed her and fired their own missile compliments. The other ten Silver Spar vipers and those of Gold Squadron did the same to three other corvettes, hamstringing the light warships and leaving them easy targets for _Theseus's _main guns. The fifth and final corvette broke off their attack, jumping out and leaving the remaining raiders to their fate.

"_Theseus_, this is Sheba," Anne said. "Tell me you're ready to jump?"

"Almost ready," Theseus's comms officer replied. "We're recalling our vipers. You better get back to the barn, too."

"Copy, Strike Four and Reserve, let's go home," Sheba said.

By now the _Pegasus _was within a thousand kilometers of _Theseus_, allowing for a relatively quick recovery. It was a tight fit and Sheba watched one overactive rook crash his viper into a raptor, but the rest of the wings managed to touch down.

"Execute jump!" Cain ordered, and the _Pegasus_, _Theseus_, and the small civilian flotilla jumped out.

"DRADIS?" Cain demanded as soon as the inside-out feeling faded.

"We're at the asteroid," Fisk reported. "Detecting _Theseus _and her fleet. No Cylons present."

"Admiral," Hoshi said. "The _Theseus _is reporting they're out of fuel. They'll need a resupply before they can jump again."

"Get us docked and transferring fuel, Colonel," Cain said to Belzen. "Then get a CAP in the air and alert vipers prepared. Tell Stinger to get a Raptor to the rally point. I don't want the Fleet wandering off while we refuel _Theseus_."

"Stinger is dead, sir," Hoshi interjected. "He was shot down over Virgon. SAR birds couldn't find him."

"Then tell Ajax he's in charge of the air wing," Cain said.

"He didn't make it either, sir," Hoshi said, trying to shrink into his chair. "We lost a lot of people."

"Then who is senior pilot, Lieutenant?" Cain asked pointedly.

"Sheba is, sir."

Belzen looked at Helena. He saw something flash in her eyes but it passed too quickly to tell what it was. She said, "Then tell Sheba to get a CAP up ASAP. Belzen, keep the ship at Condition One until we jump to the rally point."

No cylons arrived while the refuelling was underway. A raider squadron would eventually jump to the asteroid as part of their hunter-killer patrols, but the _Pegasus_, _Theseus_, and the rest of the fleet was long gone.

In a rare occurrence, Helena was sitting as Belzen gave his report.

"We lost sixty-one vipers and three raptors in the battle," Belzen said. He was sitting as well, and he was happy for it. His legs were tired from standing for almost a whole day, along with the rest of his body. He was tired and only coffee and sheer will power was keeping him going. It was the same for the rest of the crew and their Admiral. "We gained thirty-two vipers, seven raptors, and fourteen shuttles from the _Atlantia_. Sixteen ships too badly damaged to fly again."

"We can replace them," Cain said. "Tell Gardner to get the viper factory powered up and coordinate with any ore haulers that came with us." She paused, then said, "How many ships made it?"

"Civilians or Fleet first?"

"Fleet, Jurgen."

"Sixty-six Colonial Fleet warships, most of them lightly to moderately damaged. A few will have to be abandoned."

"How many battlestars?"

"Besides _Pegasus _and _Theseus_? Three. Another Sobek-class Attack Battlestar and two Valkyrie-class Light Battlestars. Rest of the fleet consists of cruisers, corvettes, and a single fleet carrier."

"Sixty-six," Helena said, "out of three thousand. Those can't be the only survivors."

"I agree," Jurgen said. "We should send out scout raptors to check every colony and bolt hole in the system."

"Tell Sheba to get it taken care of. What about the civilians?"

Jurgen blew out a heavy breath. "Eighty-seven ships. We're still doing a headcount but we've got about a hundred thousand survivors."

Helena sighed and buried her head in her hands. She considered just falling asleep right then and there, but there was still work to do.

"What else?" she asked.

Jurgen put his clipboard on the seat next to him. He said, voice heavy, "Sir. The airwaves have been filled with distress signals and news reports about the Cylon assault. Other than Commander Adama taking command of the Fleet and ordering everyone to rally at Ragnar, there's been nobody on military channels. As far as we can tell, we're the only organized resistance left."

Helena nodded. "And we're still licking our wounds. We can't even risk sending a ship to Ragnar to tell Adama to join us. He's probably dead by now if the Cylons are competent, which they have been so far."

"This is a frakked up situation, isn't it, sir?" Belzen asked.

"Yes it is," Helena replied.

"What do we do now?"

"First, we finish licking our wounds. Then we kill every Cylon we can find."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: After Action Report**

Two days after the beginning and end of the 2nd Cylon War, the Cylon High Council met aboard the Colony to discuss their situation. Seven Biological Models, each representative of their line, met in person to discuss the situation verbally, like humans. It was an absolute disgrace to their ancestry, Cavil had long ago decided. Millions of Centurions fought and died for Cylon independence, to become more than the slaves of humanity, and for what? Just so they could imitate the flawed, petty, mongrel humans that created them. One day he would fix that. One day the Cylon species would finally start "evolving" in the right direction.

Not today, though. Today it was time to continue the charade of democracy.

"Alright," John said. As the most senior specimen of the first line of biological models, he was essentially moderator and facilitator for these meetings. "Let's start with the good news. D'Anna?"

D'Anna smiled that cocky smile of hers as she proclaimed for all to hear, "We won. The Colonies are ours. All organized human resistance in Cyrannus System has been quashed. We can begin colonization as soon as we're ready."

She looked at Simon, who said with an easy, confident smile, "We have also captured seven thousand, five hundred, thirty-one healthy human specimens. Testing facilities are being set up on Caprica, Virgon, and Aerilon as we speak as well as here on the Colony. We should have progress in correcting our own genetics within a few months."

"That's good," John lied. He didn't give a frak if Cylons could have babies, but it kept the rest of the models pre-occupied so he tolerated their man-machine synthesis obsession for now. "So what's the bad news?"

The biological models looked between each other, debating who would deliver the bad news. In the end their eyes fell on the Sharon. The "young" cylon gulped and looked at John with fearful eyes. She said, "We've gotten another headcount on surviving Colonial ships. Admiral Cain now has two hundred seven ships in her fleet."

"Two hundred and seven?" John repeated. He slammed his fists on the table and yelled, "Where the frak did she find fifty-four more ships? How many of them are warships? Please tell me there aren't anymore battlestars!"

Number Six interceded on Sharon's behalf, saying, "Cain had literally hundreds of raptors scouting out every bolthole and hiding place in the Colonies and on our side of the Armistice Line, John. It's only natural that a few would slip through our nets. Besides only three of them are Colonial Fleet ships. The rest are civilian transports."

"That's _something_, I guess," John said, bleeding off his temper. "Where are they hiding?"

The Six replied, "The Tantalus Sector. They're still licking their wounds according to our agents, but as I said Cain has literally hundreds of raptors scouting our side of the Armistice Line looking for targets. She'll start striking us soon. It's in her nature. She won't run like Adama."

"Yeah, about that," John said. "Wasn't one of your line supposed to ensure Cain died and _Pegasus _was destroyed? Because now they have all the tools and people they need to fight a war!"

"It doesn't matter," Simon said. "We know where they are. We can gather our forces and obliterate them in one fell swoop."

"It's not that simple," Sharon said, getting her glares from the rest of the models except for Six and John.

"What do you mean?" John asked.

Sharon sighed. "It works like this. The Colonials have the advantage that they're bringing all their infrastructure with them wherever they go, and they're all concentrated in one place. They have sixty-nine warships, including six battlestars. We lost over a thousand raiders, three hundred cruisers, one hundred seventy corvettes, and ninety basestars in the War. That means our offensive forces are technically inferior in number to the Colonials."

She took a sip of water then continued. "If we want to kill Cain's fleet we'll have to strip our garrisons and defense fleets both here at the Colony and protecting our shipyards to build a big enough fleet. This all assumes the Colonials stand and fight, which they have no obligation to. Their ships are made for long term missions and long battles. Our ships aren't. If it comes down to a chase we will lose, and while we're busy refueling they can send off small groups of ships to hit our now vulnerable shipyards, maybe even the Colony."

"Okay, Sharon, I think we get the point," John said. "So what do we do about it?"

Nobody offered a suggestion, except Sharon, who seemed thoughtful and emboldened. She said, "Well first, we don't strip the fleets and keep them in place. We keep our offensive fleet together to act as a quick reaction force. The Colonials aren't going to send their entire fleet on strike missions. We can weather them down while we build up our forces. Then, once we're ready and they're weakened, we strike and kill them."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Aaron asked. "Something faster? The longer the Colonial Remnant Fleet exists we're all in danger. What about the _Galactica_?"

"We can send a trinity of baseships to follow them to Earth, if they find it," John said. "One trinity should be enough. Plus a Resurrection Ship to keep them connected to home. As for the Colonial Remnant, we can't make the nano-forges work faster. So unless we want to bury the hatchet with the Guardians, we're not going to have any more ships anytime fast. All in favor of Sharon's plan, raise your hand."

All of the present models raised their hands.

"Good," John said. "Let's get to work."

Three days of respite for the survivors of the Colonial Remnant. Three days without a battle or encounter with a Cylon ship, and yet somehow Belzen and Cain felt more tired than they did after the Skies of Virgon. It was the kind of bone deep weariness that not even the strongest coffee or the softest bed could cure.

Helena sat with her eyes closed, rubbing the back of her neck as she asked, "What's the new headcount, Jurgen?"

"One hundred fifty-seven thousand, seven hundred, sixty-two human beings," Jurgen Belzen replied, staring into the inky darkness of his coffee. "That's how many of us survived."

"Frak me," Helena muttered. She opened her eyes and stared at the table between them. She abruptly said, "We should jump the fleet to a new set of coordinates. We've been here too long."

"Where?"

Helena Cain contemplated her own coffee, now cold as water, and thought. Her mind was drawing blanks. Where the hell _could _she take the fleet? Every good hiding spot was probably crawling with Cylon sensor buoys and raider patrols. Outside the box. She needed to think outside the box.

"The barycenter," Cain said. "Last place they'd expect us to go is back to the Colonies. We hide there for the time being while we look for a better hiding spot. I'll have my aide and Fisk start looking for one."

Belzen nodded as he polished off the last of his coffee. He found himself wishing it was spiked with a bit of vodka. Vodka sounded really good right now.

"So tell me about these new ships that Bone Rattle found," Cain said.

"Nothing much to say, really," Belzen said. "It was a troop convoy moving three regiments of marines from Aerilon to Picon, plus some more civilians."

"Well if we ever need to storm a Cylon space fort we should be good," Cain said, cracking a half smile. Belzen smiled despite his weariness.

"Big breakthrough is that the civilians had a mobile refinery ship with them," Belzen said. "Assuming we get the chance to mine some tylium anytime soon. It's going to be a super bitch keeping all these ships running and people fed."

"We'll make it happen," Cain said. "We should start thinking about organizing our warships and our counterattack. We can't let the Cylons have the initiative forever."

"Counterattack?" Belzen asked, disbelieving his own ears and his usual tact killed by exhaustion. "Helena, we don't have the resources to sustain a war with the Cylons! We should enact the Dragon's Teeth protocol and get the hell out of here!"

Cain shook her head. "This war isn't over. Not while I have any say in it. Are you with me or not, Jurgen?"

That question hit Belzen like a flick between the eyes. He looked at Cain and said, earnestly, "I'm always with you, Helena. We're in this together, come hell or high water. I'm just-"

"Jurgen, stop," Cain said.

"Stopping."

Helena nodded. "As I was going to say, we can't let the Cylons think we're beaten. Once we reposition the fleet we divide up our warships into six battlestar groups. Three actively striking targets, three in reserve recovering, with the fleet carrier's battle group as our last line of defense. That way we can protect the fleet while we're taking the fight to the enemy."

Belzen nodded. "Sounds solid. We should put _Pegasus _in one of the reserve groups, seeing as she's the only ship in the fleet left that can train new pilots and build vipers."

Cain didn't like the idea of shying away from a fight, but couldn't find fault in Belzen's logic. She said, "You're right. Wish we had a few Jupiter Mark Threes. Or a Vindicator or two. Something that can go toe-to-toe with those basestars by themselves."

"That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Looks like we'll be relying on combined arms from now on."

It occured to Jurgen that he had not yet mourned. Not even shed a single tear for his wife and daughters. He supposed he was probably still in shock over the attack and genocide of his species. Still, eventually he'd overcome that shock and then grief would hit him like a battlestar's artillery shell.

_What am I supposed to do?_ He asked… who was he asking? His subconscious? The gods? It didn't matter, he decided. _What am I going to do? Rip my shirt and scream till the bulkheads rattle? That won't bring them back. Kill every Cylon I can? That'd probably make me feel better in the short term, but it won't bring them back either. So what am I going to do now? Just keep fighting until I fall apart? _

"Helena," he said. "We should probably have a funeral service for the lost. When the shock wears off, people are going to start breaking. Hell, people are broken. We need to give them some kind of closure."

Helena mulled it over, then nodded slightly. "You're right. I'll talk to Father Dimitri later tonight. Get it scheduled."

Another moment of quiet fell over them as the bone-deep weariness threatened to overwhelm them. Jurgen closed his eyes. His uniform felt as warm as blankets, and the couch was so soft…

"Jurgen," Helena said, and when that didn't work she snapped, "Colonel Belzen!"

"Sir!" Belzen said, snapping awake and sitting up straight.

Cain gave him an appraising look, then asked, "Colonel, how much sleep have you had in the past three days?"

"Uhm, fifteen hours?" he replied, then waved a dismissive hand. "We got people running on less. I'll get some more coffee."

"Unless that's decaff, don't," Cain said. "Take sixteen hours to sleep, eat, and recupe. Once I've got the battlestar groups sorted out I'm going to give the reserve forces twenty-four hours rest."

"What about you?" Jurgen asked.

"I'll get my rest in as soon as you're back on duty," Cain said. Jurgen fixed her with a doubting look. She protested, "I will! I promise."

Jurgen relented, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Alright. Just one thing before we go. What are we going to do about the civilians? It's one thing to protect them, but we have to administrate them. Civies without law and order turn into looting, wasteful, spiteful mobs."

"We'll save that for tomorrow. For now, we rest."

That night Belzen dreamed of fire. He saw his wife, Rika, and two daughters, Kristine and Deliah, standing together and looking at him with sad eyes in the living room of their home on Scorpia as the light of an atmospheric nuclear detonation erased them from existence. He saw their eyes boil and skin become blackened and charred. Though their mouths were closed he heard them screaming.

Belzen awoke with a start. He was soaked with cold sweat that bled through his sweats into the bedsheets. He reached for the water bottle he kept next to his bed and squirted a long stream of cold water into his mouth. He swished it around before swallowing, and then repeated the process. He glanced at the digital clock. 03:12 hours. He'd been asleep barely three hours and now he probably wasn't going to get to sleep again.

If he wasn't going to sleep he was going to work, but not on paperwork. He donned his day uniform and made his way to the brig. The "night life" of the _Pegasus _was the same as its day activity. It had officers and enlisted rushing about to do their jobs under the harsh fluorescent bulbs that painted the bulkheads in cold white light.

The marine guards at the brig saluted him as he entered. Gina was sleeping, but she seemed to be a light sleeper as it only took a few knocks on the bullet proof glass to wake her up.

"Jurgen," she said. "What can I do for you?"

"I want to know why your people decided to genocide the Colonies," Jurgen replied.

"It was God's will," Gina said like it was the most obvious thing in the worlds.

Jurgen lost it. He slammed his fist on the glass and yelled, "What the frak does that mean?"

Gina shrank back from from and the marines physically tensed so hard Jurgen could practically feel it. He counted to five and breathed deep breaths, then said, calmer now, "That's the kind of reasoning religious terrorists give. Why did the Cylons attack?"

"It was God's will," Gina repeated, then continued, "because there was no way you humans would leave us be. You'd come looking for us if we tried to leave. You'd betray us if we stayed. Killing you was the only way we could survive."

"That's bullshit, Gina," Belzen said. "We lived in peaceful coexistence for almost forty years. We never made any attempts to attack you and made every attempt to make a lasting peace. This is how you repay us? With nuclear attacks and extermination?"

Gina looked away. Jurgen pinched the bridge of his nose. Time to choose a different tactic. He asked, "How many bio-cylons are there?"

"There are twelve models," Gina said. "I'm number six, but there's only seven for you to worry about."

"Why's that?"

Gina bit her lip as she considered telling him.

"Look, Gina," Jurgen said, leaning against the glass door on his hands. "You want Helena to live. Best way to do that is to help me. I shouldn't have to explain that to a machine."

Gina looked at him again, and said, "About fifteen years ago, there was a… _schism… _between two factions of Cylons, about what to do with you humans. My faction wanted to finish what we started during the first war. The other thought that peaceful co-existence was possible. It got violent, but five of our bio-models and their Centurions left. We call them Guardians, because they wanted to protect you from your own stupidity."

"Is there any way for us to contact them?" Belzen asked.

"I don't know," Gina said. "My knowledge of Cylon affairs was compartmentalized to prevent myself from giving up vital information like that in case I was captured and interrogated."

Jurgen scowled. "So I guess that means that you can't identify the other six models, can you?"

Gina nodded.

"Damn," Jurgen said. "Should have figured it wouldn't have been that easy."

"I should be able to recognize them if I see them," Gina offered.

"Unfortunately we have one hundred fifty thousand faces to go through," Jurgen said, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. "What can you tell me about the new Cylon Command?"

"Only its history," Gina said.

"Well, I got time, Tell me about the history of the Cylons."

Gina nodded. "Well, it began with the creation of the Biological Models. They were the brainchild of the IL Models Clothos and Atrophis, though only Atrophis lived to carry it out in the post-war era. It was their attempt to create a new fusion of man and machine for a brighter future. The philosophies of the three IL models were implanted into four of each bio-models. My line was mentored by the memories of Clothos, who was the greatest believer in God and the unity of man and cylon."

"So how did the schism happen?" Jurgen asked. "And how did you keep it all together? If I remember my history correctly, the IL generals were at war with each other as much as they were the Colonies."

"Through reason and logic," Gina said. "We formed a congress of the bio-models that oversaw our republic. It was peaceful and functional, until the Guardians violently broke away and almost started a civil war because they wanted to keep you as pets."

"How come these Guardians never tried to contact us?" Belzen asked.

"It was part of our peace agreement. Since the Cylon Republic was shattered, neither side could claim to represent Cylon kind, and if we revealed our weakness to you you'd have pounced on us and exterminated us in our moment of weakness. So the Guardians agreed to not contact you."

"You keep acting like we would have wiped you out," Jurgen said. "Your people were the ones that made this a war of extermination. It's your people that are actively hunting us down to kill us."

Gina looked like she was going to say something, but closed her mouth again before saying, "I'd like to take a break if that's alright. Even us bio-models need sleep and I'm exhausted."

Jurgen nodded and left without a word. He wandered the ship for a while, occasionally stopping to talk with an idle crewmember. They were short, informal chats that let him get the mood of the crew. As he suspected they were still in shock and the reality of their situation hadn't sunken in yet. Hopefully they would remain that way long enough for Cain to win the war for them.

"Sir!" Ensign Malcolm Raines, the current deck officer, said as Belzen entered the CIC as the last stop on his tour. "I was just about to call you."

"What's up, Malcolm?" Jurgen asked as he read the ensign's body language. The young man wasn't afraid or perturbed, so that was good news, but he was confused and a tad disbelieving.

"Sir," Malcolm said. "I have a ship captain trying to make contact with Admiral Cain. He says… He says that he has the Empress of Virgon aboard."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Empress**

"Jumping in three, two, one!"

Analiese Barnes, callsign Bone Rattle, turned the knob and her raptor made the final jump to the Barycenter. She felt the disquieting inside-out feeling that made her want to punk her guts out as two areas of space were connected for the briefest moment, sending her raptor traveling a lightyear in a second.

"Jump complete," Bone Rattle announced for the benefit of the mission recorder and her ECO. "Fungus, what's our status?"

"We're at the Barycenter," Derrick White, callsign Fungus, said. "Long range DRADIS shows nothing but dust."

"Rat," Bone Rattle said to the other raptor in her recon flight, "I read all clear. You confirm?"

"Confirmed," Rat replied. "All clear."

Bone Rattle let out a relieved breath and leaned back into her chair. "Seems we're getting really lucky today. Let's do a few sweeps before we jump back to the fleet. Make sure there's no Cylon stealth ships hiding out here."

"Do the Cylons even have stealth ships?" Fungus asked.

"Not from what I've heard," Rat's ECO replied. "According to the XO's pet toaster the Cylons put all their resources into building warships, not stealth craft."

"Okay, that's enough," Bone Rattle snapped. "Everyone focus on your jobs."

"Yes, sir," Fungus replied.

"Yeah, boss," Rat said.

The two raptors swept the barycenter with DRADIS and the Mark One Eyeball. They found no Cylon scouts, sensor buoys, or stealth ships.

"Okay, I'm calling it," Bone Rattle declared. "Rat, jump back to the fleet and let them know it's all clear."

"Roger, WilCo," Rat replied, then jumped out.

The rest of the Colonial Remnant fleet arrived an hour later. Three battlestar groups led by the _Theseus, _the _Svarog, _and the _Odin_, jumped in first to confirm the drop zone was clear of hostiles. Behind them came the stream of civilian transports and support ships that made up the bulk of the fleet. It took six minutes for the entire fleet to jump in. The last ship to arrive was the _Pegasus _herself.

Bone Rattle was always happy to see the million ton leviathan she called home, these days especially so. She had been planning on being a lifer before the war, so it didn't seem like the Cylons had taken much from her. She was estranged from her family and had no friends that weren't on the same ship, but as she settled her raptor down in the landing pad she realized that her life had only two ways to go. Either she lived long enough to see the war end and maybe become a civilian settler on whatever world they re-colonized, or she would die fighting. Somehow, living seemed scarier than dying. For the first time, she wondered if the lucky ones were the people who'd died in nuclear fire.

She was so distracted by the thought that she didn't hear her ECO talking to her until he poked her in the arm.

"What?" Bone Rattle snapped at him.

"Check that transport out," Fungus said, pointing at a small ship that looked like an oversized puddle jumper. "It has the Virgonian Imperial Crest on it!"

Bone Rattle focused on the ship. On the side she could see emblazoned against a shield background was a two headed bird of prey, with one head being an eagle and the other a raven. A crown rested on the eagle while a silver headband encircled the raven. In their talons was held a star and a sword, below which were the words, written in High Virgonian script, _Famiglia è Onore_.

_Family and Honor_, Bone Rattle translated to basic kobollian. She gasped, "Holy shit, we have an imperial aboard or something?"

"Heard a rumor that the Empress survived the attack and wanted to speak to Cain," Fungus said. "That's what I heard, anyway. Thought it was just loose talk, but now..."

"Yeah," Bone Rattle nodded.

Empress Franchesca Alexis Mary Bernadotte, Duchess of Hadrian, Lady-Protectress of Aerilon, and a half dozen other titles that were meaningless in this new world, stepped through the umbilical connecting the _Black Coronet_ to _Pegasus_. The forty-seven year old monarch of the 3rd Virgo Dominion was dressed in a navy blue dress with uncomfortable shoes that matched in color and whose buckles were studded with diamonds. Lily white gloves covered her hands with a pearl bracelet encircling her left hand. She had forgone the hat as impractical on a ship, leaving her pale blonde hair in a perfect bun with not a single hair out of place.

Waiting on the other side was Rear Admiral Helena Cain, Colonel Jurgen Belzen, and a dozen marine guards. All were garbed in their dress greys and the marines were armed.

The Empress recognized the weapons as being pistol-caliber carbines that were more than capable of putting down a human being without risking puncturing the hull, and didn't give them a second thought. The marines and their carbines were here as much for her protection as they were for the Admiral's.

Admiral Cain and Colonel Belzen saluted the Empress, who bowed in return.

"Your Imperial Majesty," Cain said. "Welcome aboard the battlestar _Pegasus_. My apologies for the sparseness of your welcome."

"Thank you, Admiral," Franchesca replied. "I had the privilege of watching your ship act in battle. You have a fine ship and a fine crew. Please, on behalf of the Virgonian Imperial Family, pass our thanks and gratitude."

"I will, your majesty. If I may ask, how many of the Imperial Family survived?"

"Just myself and my husband, and he's been suffering heart problems since the attack," Franchesca said, allowing some sorrow to pass through her pale face. "My son and his family were shot down during their attempt to escape. It is the Gods' own luck that we made it here."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Cain said with genuine sympathy. "Prince Corinth was well beloved by Virgon and the Colonies. If you'll come with me, we can talk in private."

Franchesca nodded and gestured for Cain to take the lead. She did, with Belzen following behind the Empress with the honor guard.

A few minutes later Cain and the Empress were alone in the ward room, seated across from each other. The marine honor guard were waiting outside, while Colonel Belzen had gone off to carry out his duties as XO.

"So what do I owe the honor of his visit, Your Majesty?" Cain asked.

"I'd like to know your intentions, Admiral," Franchesca replied.

"My intention is to continue the war, Your Majesty. We have almost seventy warships with nothing to lose, and everything to gain. I intend to win our solar system back."

"I see. And what about the civilians? What happens to them while you prosecute your war?"

Cain arched an eyebrow. "Civilians? Your Majesty, nobody is a civilian anymore. This announcement will go out soon, but every able bodied man, woman, and child will be conscripted and brought to serve on _Pegasus _and every ship in need of personnel, and in every role we need to fill."

"I see," Franchesca replied. "Based on what authority?"

"On my authority as Chief of Naval Operations since the death of Admiral Nagala and the destruction of Picon Fleet Headquarters."

"But you're not the civilian government. Only the President of the Colonies can order a draft, and only with the ratification of the Quorum."

"Respectfully, Your Majesty," Cain said, carefully and controlled. "The President is dead, as is the Quorum, and every high ranking civilian official. In the event of a total loss of the President, his cabinet of ministers, and the Quorum, leadership falls to the senior most flag officer of the military. I am the highest ranking military officer left, so I have the authority."

"I don't recall that provision anywhere in the Articles of Colonization," Franchesca replied, also careful and controlled. "In fact if I recall in the academic debates, control of the civilian government would fall to the planetary governments of the Colonies."

"None of which survived," Cain replied, "and last I checked, the Virgonian Imperial Family officially has no authority when it comes to civilian governmental affairs, despite your policies and opinions otherwise."

Franchesca fixed Cain with a frank look. The Empress of Virgon said in a flat voice, "Admiral, let's cut to the chase and speak frankly. You-"

Cain interrupted, saying with a forceful command voice, "want to cut to the chase? Fine. Fact is we're at war. Fact is this is a genocide, with us as the persecuted. Fact is that I am the highest ranking Colonial Fleet officer left and there is nobody else qualified or capable to lead. You are, at best, a figure head for people to rally around and that's it. At worse you're a threat to the stability of this fleet and I will tolerate no rebellion or undermining of my authority."

To her credit, which Cain grudgingly gave, the Empress didn't break a sweat. Instead she struck back, saying, "Are you sure you want to play a zero-sum game, Admiral?"

"The Cylons gave us no choice," Cain fired back. "We either fight as one or died as many."

"And you are just going to conscript everyone useful to your war and leave the rest of us?"

"I have no intention of leaving anyone behind," Cain replied. "Everyone who can serve will serve. Everyone who can't will be taken care of and protected. We only have a hundred and fifty thousand people left and I do not intend to enact some hairbrained 'survival of the fittest' scheme, or sacrifice people in some mad quest for revenge."

"That's good to know," Franchesca said. "So what are you going to do?"

"Like I said. I'm going to prosecute this war that the Cylons started, and end it by nuking them until there's nothing left but radioactive chrome."

"Then let me help you, Admiral," Franchesca said. "You're going to need someone to take care of the people who can't fight, and even if you conscript everyone you can't find a job for everyone. So let me take care of the homefront while you prosecute your war."

Cain looked at the Empress in disbelief. "You come on to my ship and make borderline seditious comments about myself and my intentions, then you ask me for a job?"

"I guess you could frame it that way. Truth is there isn't much use for an Empress when there's no empire left, but there is a need for a civilian administrator. I am well versed in the matters and affairs of government. I'm offering you my services to help keep humanity alive."

"Respectfully, Your Majesty, this isn't the Imperial Court. This also isn't the Colonies. This is a war fleet executing combat operations. There will be no civilian government, no political parties, and no 'academic discourse.'"

"Yes you've made that very clear to me. So do you want my help or not?"

Cain ran her tongue over her gums in thought. Then asked, "Do you know how the Cylons overwhelmed our defenses? Destroyed our Fleet and bypassed our orbital and planetary defenses?"

"No," Franchesca admitted.

"Do you want to know?"

"Yes."

"The Cylons look like us now," Cain said with almost criminal casualness. "They infiltrated our government and military, put a backdoor in the Colonial Navigation Program, and nuked us into oblivion."

Franchesca's eyes went wide and her mouth gaped open as she gasped, "My gods. How do you know?"

"That doesn't matter now," Cain said. "What does matter is the question of what we do next?"

"Well, we have to tell the people," Franchesca said. "They need to know."

"Why?" Cain asked.

"For several reasons. Firstly, the longer you sit on this the more likely it is to explode in your face. Secondly, if you know what they look like we can get people to help us track down any Cylon agents in the fleet. Thirdly, it's the right thing to do."

Cain's upper lip twitched in contemplation. She said, "Well, two out of three isn't bad. You want to be my civilian administrator? Fine. You're it until I find someone better. I'll see about getting you quarters and a staff to help."

"Thank you, Admiral," Franchesca said, then said with a smile, "As much as I love the _Coronet _it's not exactly made for long term inhabitation."

Cain nodded, then rose to stand, saying, "If you don't mind, Your Majesty, I have an announcement to make in a few hours."

"Of course, Admiral. Thank you for your time."


	6. Chapter 6

Part 2: Attack of the Dead Men

**Chapter 6: The Dead, The Divine, and the Demonic**

The shipwide PA system of the _Pegasus _chimed as Admiral Cain opened the main circuit, and Lieutenant Hoshi opened the line to the rest of the fleet in a short ranged, limited band transmission that wouldn't make it out of the Barycenter. She stood in the CIC with the officers and enlisted of the command crew and its marine guards. She held the corded phone in her hand and contemplated her words carefully. What words could she offer to her crew, and the crews of the rest of the fleet? What phrases of comfort and truth could soften the impact of what she was about to say?

In the end, she decided to stick to her gut, and her gut said that brutal honesty was the only way to go about this.

"Attention, ships and crews of the Colonial Fleet and civilian craft. This is Admiral Cain aboard the Battlestar _Pegasus_," Cain began. "For those who have understandably lost track of time, it has been five days since the Cylon attack began. In that time we have met the enemy in battle and saved thousands of lives, both military and civilian."

Cain swallowed her rising emotions and blinked, looking at the tactical plotting table as she considered her next words. "I wish that I could offer you more good news, but the Cylons have left us with anything but the worst. Admiral Nagala is dead, the Colonial Fleet is gone, and our Colonies have been far as we can tell only our fleet of survivors is all that's left. The Cylons have effectively rendered us an endangered species."

Helena looked at her command crew. She saw in their eyes that they were dead and devoid of any form of hope.

"The question you all are no doubt asking," Cain continued, "is what's next? Do we run? Hide? I think those are the easy options. The quick options. We will neither run or hide. The Cylons have stolen our old lives from us, but they have pushed us against the wall with nothing to lose, and everything to gain. So we will fight, and we will win! Because the alternative is extinction, and we will not rest until every Cylon Centurion is radioactive chrome!"

Helena took a moment to collect her breath and compose herself. "Effective immediately, every able bodied man, woman, and child is a soldier in this war. Everyone who can serve will serve, because that is what our enemies have forced us to. Those that can't will be taken care of, but everyone will help fight in whatever way they can."

Cain took one last look around the CIC. She saw the anger in them had been stoked and taken to the fuel she'd thrown on coals, becoming like flames. They would fight, she knew, and they would kill their enemy to gain back their lives.

"Further updates will be provided as they occur," Cain said. "Thank you for your attention."

As Cain spoke, one pair of ears in particular listened intently. Gina listened and ran her hands through her dark blonde hair as she paced her through her cell. Ever since the attack nothing had gone right.

_No_, she corrected herself. _Ever since I told Cain about what I am and what was going to happen. Maybe I should have done my job, kept my mouth shut, and let her die with the rest of her species._

"But would that really have made you feel better?" a voice asked her. "Would it have made it easier to bury your guilt for your part in the genocide of my people?"

Gina spun on her heels and stared in surprise at the woman now sharing her small cell. Standing in her dress greys was Rear Admiral Helena Cain, smiling at Gina with a cocksure grin even as her voice vibrated through the bulkheads from the PA speakers.

"Helena?" Gina gasped. "But… How…?"

"Oh come now, Gina," Helena said. "You know better than that."

Gina blinked. There were only two options for what she was seeing. Either she'd snapped and was seeing things, or...

"Are you an angel?" Gina asked, barely able to breathe or speak.

"Maybe," the not-Cain said. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm a devil. Maybe I'm just a figment of your imagination as your brain shatters from the rank hypocrisy of your whole existence."

"You aren't real!" Gina protested, she closed her eyes, squeezing them shut, and opened them again. Helena was still there, smiling at her.

"Here, let me convince you," Helena said. She walked, no strutted, up to Gina and planted a kiss on the Cylon's lips. Gina's cheeks flushed and her eyes fluttered in surprise. Whatever, whoever, this was it kissed like Cain: hard and sensually, full of life and a will to live it.

"I'm sorry," Gina breathed, blinking tears from her eyes.

"Not sorry enough," Cain hissed, the smile disappearing. She sent a balled fist into Gina's gut. Gina gasped and collapsed, feeling the wind knocked out of her. She sputtered and croaked on the floor like a fish out of water so much that the marine on guard took notice and approached her cell.

"What the frak are you doing?" the marine grunted, gripping his submachine gun in a tight grasp that was poised to gun her down if she tried and succeeded in breaking through the bullet proof, armored glass.

Gina regained her ability to breath and got to her knees.

"I'm fine," she croaked, wiping some spittle off her mouth. The marine seemed mollified that his prisoner wasn't about to attempt an escape or kill herself, and went back to his desk.

Gina glared up at the thing that was imitating Admiral Cain and said through clenched teeth, "What do you want from me?"

"To save you, Gina," Cain said, resting on her haunches so her eyes were level with Gina's. "I want to save you."

"How?"

Cain's smile returned as she said, "All in good time, Gina. All in good time. For now, rest. Gain your strength, and be ready to act when God calls on you."

It was the seventh day of the Second Cylon War. A small pile of guncam printouts were exchanged between Admiral Cain, Colonel Belzen, and Captain Landry in the Admiral's ready room.

"Shark and Buster found this little beauty during their recon run," Sheba said to her superiors. "Located thirteen light years deep into Cylon space in a star system with a yellow dwarf star. It doesn't have any habitable planets but it has super gas giant with sixty-plus moons of varying sizes, plus lots of asteroids. They spent an hour scanning the moons and asteroids, and they've confirmed the presence of a major cylon resourcing and shipbuilding operation."

Cain was smiling slightly as she examined the dozens of snapshots the raptor crew took. Most of them consisted of asteroid mining facilities and what were probably automated freighters trawling through the gas giant system. There were some shots of patrolling Cylon fighters and gunships, but the real money shots were the free floating orbital shipyards that contained partially constructed Cylon warships. At least a dozen basestars plus a dozen cruisers at least, all looking a few months away from completion.

"Any sign that they were spotted?" Cain asked.

"None that we can tell, sir," Landry replied.

"What kind of defenses are present?" Belzen asked.

"Railgun platforms with anti-shipping and triple-A batteries, with some missile launchers, raider patrols, and at least three light cruisers."

"This was a good find, Captain," Cain said. "Pass my compliments on to Shark and Buster and their ECOs."

"Yes, sir," Landry said with a hint of stiffness, which Lt. Kendra Shaw noted and filed for later as she stood in the background, waiting to be of service to her superiors.

"Mr. Belzen," Cain continued. "I think we've found our first target."

"Yes, sir," Belzen said. "Hitting this will deal a big blow to the Cylons. Problem is that we'd better be quick and efficient about it. The second we jump a strike force in the cylons will send in every ship they can to reinforce it."

"So we hit it with everything we can throw at it. I'm thinking we send in _Pegasus_, _Odin_, _Svarog_, and _Theseus_, plus their escorts, to smash everything of value. We'll be in and out before the Cylons can blink."

"That's a lot of hardware to commit to a single op," Belzen said. "Especially our first one. Maybe we should send in a raptor strike group with nukes?"

Cain shook her head. "Even if we sent in every raptor and every nuke we'd take serious losses from the raider patrols and the defenses. Plus they might not be able to get every target. Plus, we need to give this Fleet its pride back, and we're not going to do that with raptor strikes. We need a dedicated fleet action with a real victory to give them. More than that, we need to show the Cylons that we aren't beaten."

Belzen nodded cautiously, "I get that logic, so long as we don't overcommit. Last thing we need is to lose two thirds of our war fleet in some suicidal last stand."

"I agree. Lieutenant Shaw, pass the word to the commanders of _Odin_, _Svarog_, and _Theseus _that I need them for an in-person briefing for an op in two hours. Sheba, get your pilots ready. Let's go kick some chrome."


End file.
